Temporary closure of special care baby unit and important changes to inpatient maternity services at Yeovil Hospital

Concerns about the safety of the care for babies and children at Yeovil Hospital mean that the trust cannot currently safely run the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) and safely provide care during labour and birth at the Yeovil Maternity Unit for an initial period of six months.

Dr Melanie Iles, Chief Medical Officer for the trust, said:

“This is a very difficult decision that we have not taken lightly. We have made it after careful consideration, and a clinical assessment of those services, in discussion with NHS partners. I want to personally say sorry to local people who are affected by these temporary closures.”

“These temporary closures have come about as a result of concerns about our care for babies and children at YDH. The Care Quality Commission inspected our paediatric services in January and issued a Section 29A warning notice because it assessed that the paediatric care we provide at YDH requires significant improvement. We also currently have high levels of sickness amongst senior paediatricians which has caused big gaps in our rota.

“Senior paediatricians from Musgrove Park Hospital are supporting the service at YDH, to ensure that paediatric inpatient and outpatient services at YDH are open for those who need them. However, we are not able to support the SCBU in the same way and therefore we must close it temporarily on safety grounds.

This directly impacts on the YDH inpatient maternity service because we cannot care for any newborns who require care in a Special Care Baby Unit or safely provide care during labour and birth at the Yeovil Maternity Unit.

“Most services remain open, and we are working with neighbouring NHS trusts and the Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership to ensure that pregnant women, birthing people and their newborn babies receive the care and support they need.”

“We are committed to providing safe, high quality and sustainable services for those who need them, but we must address these concerns and need the time and space to do this. I apologise again to anyone who is affected by these changes.”

Further information about timings

We're working really hard to reopen after six months, but we recognise that this will be challenging, and we must ensure that we can do so safely. We are putting in place some specific criteria to support a reopening, such as ensuring we have senior paediatricians (consultants) available at the busiest times of the day and evening, as well as ensuring that we are able to operate a paediatric assessment unit on site. In addition, we need to ensure that we are able to safely support deliveries at the Yeovil maternity unit through the safe provision of a special care baby unit.

Whilst we will keep the situation under continual review, we will also undertake a formal review of the position after three and six months.

Advice for patients and service users

The following services are open and unchanged:

• Outpatient clinics for pregnant mothers such as obstetric and midwifery antenatal clinics, scanning, antenatal screening services and home births will continue at Yeovil Hospital as normal.
• Inpatient and outpatient paediatric services at YDH are open and there for those who need them.

Changes to services from 5pm on Monday 19 May that will affect pregnant women, birthing people and newborn babies:

The care of pregnant women and birthing people will be transferred to give birth at Musgrove Park Hospital or the maternity units at Dorchester or Bath.

The trust is working with the Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership and neighbouring NHS trusts to ensure pregnant women and newborn babies have access to the care they need.

Additional advice to service users

If you are due to have your baby at Yeovil Hospital this week, you should continue to attend the hospital as planned. If you have any queries or questions, please contact your midwife. All service users booked to have their baby in Yeovil will be contacted by the Midwifery team in the next few days to discuss your choices for care.

You can also read a letter to our service users that helps to explain the temporary changes.

Concerns:

If you have any concerns about you or your baby, including any changes in your baby’s movements you should call the emergency triage at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. The Triage telephone number is 01823 343985 and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Please continue to attend all antenatal appointments at Yeovil Hospital as planned.

Self-referral process

If you are pregnant, your antenatal (pregnancy) care should start as soon as possible to ensure you, and your baby are well and have the checks and care you need.

The first step is to complete the self-referral form as usual on our website.

You will then be able to discuss:

• What happens next and contact details for your maternity team
• How to access Badgernotes (an app for you to see your pregnancy notes, appointments, and useful information)
• A pre-booking form to complete before your first appointment
• Information about stopping smoking services
• We will post a ‘My Maternity Journey’ (LINK) personalised care and support plan to your home address. This has important information about your care, appointments and your choices.
• Your choices for a place of birth during this time

NHS Somerset Helpline

If you have any general concerns or questions that you would like to ask, NHS Somerset have set up a helpline, by calling: 0300 303 6409, this will be available Monday – Friday between 8am – 6pm.

Feedback

You can also share feedback with our Somerset Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) by emailing somersetmvp@evolvingcommunities.co.uk at any time.